


Yellow Roses Mean Freedom

by bastanubis29



Series: Yellow Roses Mean Freedom (Nomin Genie AU) [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Flowers, Fluff, M/M, florist!Jaemin, genie au, genie!Jeno, nomin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2019-08-21 06:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16571195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bastanubis29/pseuds/bastanubis29
Summary: Jaemin doesn't necessarily believe in magic, but that doesn't stop an unexpected run-in with a genie from flipping his world upside down. Or, they're still gay, still in love, just in a new, full-length fic.AKA my NaNoWriMo project, updated every other Friday.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my beta readers for helping me get this out!

It’s early on a Sunday morning, and Jaemin walks into the flower shop with a spring in his step. He clocks in, pulls on a pastel purple apron, and makes his rounds with a watering can, paying special attention to each and every single pot.

The bell on the door dings, and Jaemin looks up from the daffodils he is moving further into the sunlight.

“You know, it’s bad manners to get to work before the owner.”

Jaemin smirks back at Jungwoo. “I mean, if you got here on time, I wouldn’t beat you.”

“Just because you’re friends with my boyfriend doesn’t mean that you’re allowed to sass me. I’m still your elder, Nana.”

In all actuality, Xuxi had gotten Jaemin this job, but Jaemin’s unending love of any and all plants had helped him keep the job. Jungwoo, while an amazing person, was a horribly disorganized boss, and it was only because of Jaemin that the flower shop wasn’t underwater.

“I know that, Jungwoo. Doesn’t negate the fact that I was here first.”

Jungwoo huffs, but the smile on his face reveals that he’s not as mad as he pretends to be. “We’ve got two orders to fill, Jaemin. A bridal bouquet, and an anniversary arrangement.”

Jaemin sighs. He hates cut flower arrangements, hates having to kill flowers for someone’s temporary pleasure, especially when it is possible and easy to give someone a potted plant for an occasion.

“I know you hate them, but it’s part of the job. Which one do you want to do?”

“There’s color restrictions on the bridal, yeah? I’d prefer the anniversary if you don’t mind.”

Jungwoo laughs, “You know I’m not as good at flower meanings as you. You do whichever you want; I’ll probably just throw some roses together and hope for the best.”

“Then give me the anniversary order,” Jaemin laughs, “A marriage that’s lasted deserves at least a little bit of meaning.”

Jungwoo rustles around the underside of the counter for a moment, then emerges with two order forms. He passes Jaemin the one filled out in blue ink, then hustles to the back to get the pruning shears.

Their flower shop specializes in freshly-cut flower arrangements, none of that pre-cut, sitting in water crap that grocery stores have. It was Jaemin’s influence that led to Jungwoo eradicating pre-cut bouquets completely, though he had already been getting sick of throwing away full bouquets worth of wilting flowers before Xuxi convinced him to give Jaemin a job.

Jaemin looks at the pick-up time for the arrangement, notes that it is about an hour from now, and begins compiling a list of all the flowers he will need, wandering through the store to ensure that they do, in fact, have everything.

Yellow roses, gardenia, lilac, and wisteria are all accounted for, but Jaemin can’t find the gillyflower anywhere.

“Jungwoo?” he calls.

“Yeah?”

“Where’s our gillyflower? I could have sworn I saw some the other day.”

“They went bad,” Jungwoo replies. “I think we had them right under the heater.”

Jaemin groans and throws his head back. “Shit. I guess I’ll just add holly instead; I hope it doesn’t look too Christmasy.”

Jungwoo passes him the shears. “It’ll be fine, Jaemin. Your bouquets always look great; you don’t need to worry.”

Smiling in thanks, Jaemin takes the shears and turns to the yellow rose bush on the shelf behind him.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers to the plant as he snips off a few flowers, continuing the pattern with all of the flowers he has in mind for this arrangement. He lays the cut flowers on the counter and walks into the back to their vase storage.

He has a specific vase in mind, one that he bought on one of his flea market searches a few months back. It’s a light yellow that fades to gray at the bottom, shaped like tall cup and easy to pour water into.

He carries it to the sink, taking mental note that they were running low on vases and that he’ll need to go hunting for some new ones. Filling the vase about halfway with lukewarm water, he takes it back to the counter. The flowers are put in in a simple fashion: roses first, then a scattering of the purple flowers for contrast. The holly is spaced out throughout the bouquet, helping it look more natural and less like a grocery store arrangement.

The bell on the door rings again, and Jaemin looks up from the flowers sitting on the counter -- the vase doesn’t have enough room for all of the ones he cut-- to see Xuxi enter the shop.

Jaemin would be lying if he said he didn’t have a bit of a crush on Xuxi. The older man is attractive, and from the moment that they were introduced by Mark, Jaemin has had a half-crush on the taller man. Jaemin, however, absolutely adores Jungwoo, and would never do anything to potentially hurt his relationship with Xuxi.

“What’s up, Nana?” Xuxi asks, holding his hand up for a high five.

Jaemin wipes his wet hand on his apron, then high fives Xuxi. “Just an anniversary arrangement. Why are you here?”

“Jungwoo said you guys have a new shipment coming in today? He called me in to help.”

Jungwoo emerges from the back, three vases in arms and what Jaemin hopes isn’t pruning shears between his teeth. Placing the vases on the counter, Jungwoo removes the shears from his mouth. “Hey babe.” He turns to Jaemin. “I was doing inventory, we’re going to need more vases soon.”

Jaemin nods, turning back to his arrangement as Jungwoo greets Xuxi with a kiss. Xuxi rounds the counter and disappears into the back with Jungwoo to help him unload the truck.

The bell on the door dings for a third time this morning, and Jaemin looks up to see a tall man walking through the store.

“Hi, welcome to Dream in a Dream Flowers. How can I help you?”

“Picking up for Seo?” The man says, and Jaemin looks down at the order form right in front of him.

“Anniversary arrangement for a Seo Johnny?”

“That’s the one. Is it ready?”

Jaemin gestures to the vase in front of him. “This is it. Any changes that need to be made?”

“No, Ten will love it. How much do I owe you?” Johnny pulls out his wallet, rifling through it to find his credit card.

Jaemin mentally calculates the price of the vase in his head, then says “$37.98.”

He takes the credit card when it is offered, and swipes it to complete the transaction.

“Thank you for choosing Dream in a Dream. I hope they like the flowers.”

“He will. This is his favorite florist in the city. Thanks again.”

Johnny picks the vase up from the counter and leaves the shop.

Jaemin can hear Jungwoo and Xuxi unloading boxes into the back, but he really doesn’t have any desire to go and help. Instead, he wanders around the store. He rotates the sunflowers so that they grow straight, checks in on the orchids which are positioned in the only temperature controlled place in the store, and wipes down the counter.

There are flowers left over from his arrangement, and he doesn’t want to throw them away, but he’s not sure exactly what to do with them. He doesn’t keep cut flowers in his apartment on principle, but these are so nice looking and will probably last a few days if they’re not thrown out before then. 

“I can tell you’re debating if you should throw them away,” Jungwoo says, and Jaemin jumps because he hadn’t heard the other man come out of the storage room.

“I don’t want to, but…”

“But you don’t want to take them home either.”

“Yeah.”

“You should take them,” Jungwoo says. “Put them on your table. Find something to put them in; it’ll help your table match the rest of your apartment. I heard Chenle and Renjun talking about a new Chinese pawn shop that opened up down the street from your apartment. Try that. Do me a favor, though?”

“Yes?”

“Get some vases for the store as well, we’ve only got about five left.”

There’s a crash from the storage room, and Jungwoo sighs. “Make that less than five.” He calls back into the storage room, “Don’t move, Xuxi! I’m getting the broom!”

Jungwoo takes the broom from it’s hook next to the counter, and walks back to the doorway to the storage room.

“Did you want me to go now?” Jaemin asks, and Jungwoo turns back to him for a moment.

“I think that would be best,” he says, motioning to the door. “I’m not sure how many we have left now.”

Jaemin wraps the remaining cut flowers in a damp paper towel to the sound of Jungwoo quietly scolding Xuxi. He hangs up his apron and leaves the shop, placing the flowers in the basket of his baby blue bike, and heading back to his apartment to at least put them in water before he goes out to buy vases.

It’s quiet on a Sunday, and traffic back to his apartment is minimal. The elevator is broken, so Jaemin walks up three flights of stairs, greeting the older woman who lives next door to him as he lets himself into his apartment.

He lives in a small, one bedroom apartment, and any space that is not desperately needed for daily function or survival is taken up by plants of all colors, all within vases and china that Jaemin buys from antique stores. He just really likes gardening, and the balcony of his apartment offers little room for the amount of things he wants to grow, so the rest of his apartment doubles as a greenhouse.

He places the flower down on his kitchen counter next to a pot of tulips, opening his cabinet to take out a plain drinking glass. He fills it with water, then unwraps the cut flowers and places them in the cup.

He leaves them on the counter, grabbing his helmet from the table where he had placed it when he got inside, and leaves the apartment again.

He makes his way down the street, pushing his bike across crosswalks until he comes to a stop in front of a Chinese antique store.

Chenle and Renjun had told him about it about a week ago, and he’s been meaning to stop by and take a look, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

He only started frequenting antique shops after Jungwoo had complained about the stereotypical selection of vases in the catalogues he ordered from. And, while none of the ornate goods that fill the aisles of this shop fit the simple, clean-lined theme of the pottery in his home, they may be more popular among the customers that Dream in a Dream gets. 

He finds a few things, old urns and pitchers mainly, as he wanders the aisles, and makes a mental note to send the photos he’s taking to Jungwoo.

He’s just about decided not to buy anything and go browse another shop when something catches his eye.

Jaemin is drawn to the short, Joseon dynasty-style oil lamp in the back of the shop, hidden behind a variety of tea sets. The Korean characters on the base make it obvious that it doesn’t really belong in the Chinese antique shop, and Jaemin knows in the instant that he sees it that he has to buy it.


	2. II

Gently, he takes the lamp from its place on the shelf and carries it to the front counter, placing it in front of the small, elderly woman manning the register.

The woman looks up from her book, standing to her full height and inspecting the lamp.

“This lamp is more trouble than it’s worth,” she says, raising her eyebrow at Jaemin. “But it always seems to have a way of choosing its owner.”

“I’d like it just the same,” Jaemin replies, fingers working gently over the characters at the base.

“Be careful, child. All things come with a price, and not just a price tag.”

(A voice in the back of Jaemin’s head tells him to put the lamp back and get the heck out of the store. He never listens to that part of his brain.)

“How much?” he asks, disregarding her statement and pulling his wallet from his pocket.

“Ten dollars. Good luck.”

He hands her the money as though in a trance, watching blankly as she carefully wraps the lamp in tissue, then places it in an unassuming brown paper bag.

“Thank you,” he says to her as he leaves the store, and she nods solemnly back at him as the door closes behind him.

He places the paper bag in the basket of his bike and unlocks it from the meter in front of the shop. For a moment, he debates continuing on his thrift hunt, but there’s a part of him that is uncomfortable with leaving the paper bag unattended in his bike, and it’s far too heavy to carry around in store after store.

He decides to return home, if only to drop the lamp off before continuing on his quest, but it’s getting later than he expected, and he chooses to postpone his search until tomorrow before his shift starts.

He pedals home, taking special care to avoid bumps in the sidewalk to keep from jostling the paper bag in his basket. As he approaches his apartment complex, he takes in the crisp November evening, stores along the road closing as dinnertime approaches.

He parks his bike on the rack in the parking garage underneath his apartment complex, locking it and grabbing the lamp, still wrapped in the same paper bag, from his bike basket.

There’s a man working on the elevator when Jaemin gets to the lobby, and he turns down the hallway to go up the stairs instead. Three flights feels like nothing after the amount of biking Jaemin did around the city today, and he reaches the door of his apartment in less than five minutes.

He unlocks the door, pushes it open, and enters the dark apartment. As he moves further into his small living space, he turns on a few heat lamps for the plants scattered about.

He places the paper bag on the kitchen counter, walking over the cupboard and looking at his slim options for dinner. Sighing, he grabs a packet of ramen and promises himself that he’ll go to the grocery store tomorrow after work.

As his ramen cooks, he flips open his laptop and scrolls through Netflix, trying to decide what to watch while eating. It is moments like these where he feels lonely, despite the amount of life surrounding him.

The stove timer beeps, drawing him out of his revere, and he switches the noodles from the pot to a bowl to give himself some semblance of adulthood.

It is only after he finishes eating and has watched a few episodes of some awful show about teenagers that look as old as, if not older, than him that he remembers the flowers and lamp on his counter.

Standing up and stretching, he walks over to the sink and puts his dirty dishes into it. He unwraps the lamp from the paper bag gently, placing it back onto the counter and throwing the bag away.

He shifts the flowers from the glass to the lamp, and is about to pour water into it when he notices a stubborn patch of dirt on the side. He grabs the hem of his t-shirt and rubs furiously at it until the patch of lamp shines enough that he can see his reflection in it.

Nodding with satisfaction, he places the lamp back onto the counter, pulling an old metal watering can from the shelf next to his refrigerator, and prepares to pour water into the refill opening on the top of the lamp.

It is only when he turns back that he notices the lamp is smoking. He pulls the flowers out quickly, scared that something had caught fire in the two seconds his back was to the lamp. He can’t remember fire ever making purple smoke, however, and none of the flowers are even singed.

Even still, Jaemin sprints over to the fire extinguisher provided by his landlord, and approaches the still-smoking lamp cautiously. 

He’s standing right over it before he realizes that the purple smoke doesn’t even smell like smoke; it smells like the vanilla incense sticks that Renjun buys and fills his house with.

The apartment has filled with smoke, and Jaemin’s a little surprised (and a bit concerned, but he pushes that down) that the smoke alarm hasn’t gone off. Also, he’s pretty sure that smoke is supposed to rise, but this smoke is pooling along the floor.

Jaemin watches as the smoke congeals in one spot, hazy purple growing more and more opaque the longer he stares at it.

Suddenly, there’s a flash like lightning, and Jaemin’s apartment is no longer filled with smoke. He shakes his head, confused, turning around to face the rest of the apartment and figure out where the smoke went.

There doesn’t seem to be any explanation for the sudden disappearance - no window blew open and sucked out the smoke. Jaemin rubs his eyes, suddenly exhausted.

He hangs the fire extinguisher back up, and it is only when he has turned back to the sink to wash his dishes before heading to bed that he notices the man standing in the middle of his kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Jaemin and Jeno have now met (kinda). Please let me know what you think in the comments! Next chapter will be going up on the 29th bc it's my birthday and ya'll are getting a gift!
> 
> Kudos=food  
> comments=cuddles  
> I need food and like cuddles!


	3. III

Jaemin takes in the purple harem pants, small golden vest (taking care to dwell on absolutely none of the bare chest in front of him), and black hair before trying to clear his mind of any and all thoughts as he escapes to his room for a moment to get the other man a t-shirt at the very least. Frankly, he can’t really think until the other man is dressed like a normal human person, and the shock and vulnerability of the other man are enough for him to know that he needs to act like this is a normal occurrence for both of their sakes.

He returns to the kitchen with arms full of clothing, throwing a t-shirt and pair of sweatpants at the mysterious man in front of him.

“Bathroom’s through that door. I’d really be more comfortable if you put some real clothes on, before we talk about whatever just happened.”

The stranger obliges, and pulls the door to the bathroom shut behind him without a word.

Jaemin takes a seat on one of the stools of his dining room table (He says dining room table, but truly means the folding table wedged into the corner of his apartment kitchen where he occasionally eats his meals) and waits for the other man to emerge.

Rubbing his face and mentally sending curses to every deity he can remember, Jaemin can now say that he understands why the old woman was talking about the lamp being trouble.

The door to the bathroom creaks open, and the stranger emerges, and Jaemin notices that his clothes fit the other man almost perfectly. They regard each other with cool stares from opposite sides of the room.

Jaemin, of course, is freaking out internally, because: A. The man’s face is even more beautiful he could imagine, and B. he had appeared from literally nowhere to stand in questionable garments in Jaemin’s kitchen.

They remain like that for a moment, just looking at each other, before Jaemin stands and gestures to his small living room.

“Want to take a seat?”

The other man nods, and they sit on opposite ends of Jaemin’s small couch. The other man curls up on his side of the couch like a scared child, and Jaemin hopes that he won’t have to deal with someone else’s emotional breakdown on top of his own.

“Who are you?” Jaemin finally asks, gently as to not spook the stranger.

The stranger replies, “I’m Jeno. Guardian of the lamp and granter of wishes to whoever possesses it.”

Jaemin blinks once, very slowly, as the man continues.

“Granter of three wishes. I should have specified. And the usual limits exist, you know: I can’t raise the dead, can’t give you more wishes, can’t force anyone to fall in love with you; that sort of thing. But you get three wishes, then I go back in the lamp until someone else comes into possession of it.” He says all of this very fast, and when he finishes his little speech, he takes a deep, shaky breath in.

Jaemin files all of this information away into the back of his brain, glancing back toward the lamp still sitting on his kitchen counter.

“How long have you been in the lamp?” he finally settles on asking, and Jeno’s eyes widen in surprise at the question.

He seems to have to think very hard about this, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he fishes for an answer. “I think it was the mid-seventies? I sleep a lot in the lamp. Time is a human construct, after all.”

Nodding, Jaemin digests this information, considering his options. He can’t imagine being trapped inside a lamp for that long, but that isn’t the most pressing issue. The man in front of him is either crazy or actually a genie. And last Jaemin checked, crazy people didn't appear by rubbing lamps.

“Three wishes? Anything at all so long as it doesn’t break the rules?”

Jeno visibly relaxes when conversation returns to his “Yep. Then I go back in the lamp and get out of your hair.”

Closing his eyes, Jaemin thinks very hard for a few moments; he has no issue thinking up things to wish for, but none of them seem right. He’s seen Aladdin, he knows that material possessions probably won’t do him any good, and while he’d love to ask for his heart’s greatest desire, he’s not even really sure what that is.

The other man is looking around the apartment in wonder when Jaemin opens his eyes, and he takes a moment to look at the man in front of him. From an outsider’s perspective, Jaemin thinks that the other man is attractive. Really, anyone would notice that, but he’s trying really hard not to let it cloud his judgement.

“Cool. So, I’m currently not going to redeem any of them. Is that okay?”

Jeno looks shocked. “You don’t have anything to wish for?”

“Well, I’ve got to think. Potentially life-changing choices here, best to take some time to figure out exactly what I want.” Internally, he’s cursing himself for letting the attractiveness of his new acquaintance cloud his better judgement, but there’s no going back now.

He notices that the other man is looking decidedly uncomfortable at this new development, and he asks, “There’s no problem with that, is there?”

The other man swallows. “Well, you see, I can’t, um, go back into the lamp until the wishes are granted.”

“Like, at all? Not even to sleep?”

“No…”

Jaemin thinks for a moment, then nods resolutely. “So, looks like you’re my new roommate for a little while. Welcome. Make yourself at home.”

“I can’t! There, there are rules…” The other man’s eyes are wide, and he’s anxious enough that he’s uncurled from his corner of the couch.

Jaemin sighs, and lies through his teeth. “Look, dude. I’m trying to help you out here. Give you some time out of the lamp. Take it or leave it; I do have things that I could wish for if you’re really adverse to the idea of spending a week or two living like a normal person.”

Jeno blinks, looking between Jaemin and the lamp like this deal is a trap. “A few weeks?”

“If at any time you want to go back, you say the word, I’ll give the wishes, and we part ways permanently.”

“My call?”

“Exactly.”

“No ulterior motives here?”

“None.” (  _ Unless you count thinking that you’re really cute an ulterior motive, _ Jaemin thinks.)

“Then, I guess it won’t hurt…”

“Awesome. I’ll take the couch, and you can have the bed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop a comment to keep me motivated! I wrote almost 9.5k words during the month of November, but I'm not done with the story yet!  
> Let me know what you think!
> 
>  
> 
> (Also, I recently turned 18! Thanks to any and all birthday well-wishers!)


	4. IV

Jaemin, against his better judgement, does not call into work sick the next day. Instead, he awakens from his night on the couch bright and early, and leaves his apartment with Jeno in tow.

He awakens bright and early only because Jeno is screaming at the alarm clock. While Jaemin generally doesn’t need his alarm to wake up, he still left it on just in case. Jeno’s screaming pulled Jaemin from the world of dreams and had plopped him directly into a situation where he had to explain to someone what an alarm clock was and why it made that sound.

(Jeno’s eyes light up in wonder while Jaemin explains, but he chooses not to focus on that.)

The genie is overwhelmed by everything around him when they leave the apartment complex. He comes to a full stop when Jaemin begins unlocking his bike from the bike rack.

“How are we both going to ride that?” the genie asks, and Jaemin has to remind himself that Jeno was out of the lamp in the 70s, and bikes definitely existed then, so Jeno must at least be aware of the concept.

“Well, you’re going to sit on the seat,” Jaemin punctuates this with a smack to the black leather, “And I’m going to pedal. You’re probably going to want to hold onto my waist, but we’ll make it work.”

He mounts the bike, one foot on the pedal, one foot against the ground to keep the bike steady as Jeno climbs on. 

“Waist,” Jaemin reminds him as he pushes off, pedaling to the best of his ability as arms snake around his waist. He tells himself that it is the physical exertion that causes his heart rate to pick up, even though he knows deep in his chest that it’s because he is pressed up against this beautiful man that, literally, cannot survive a single day in this world without him.

It’s about a fifteen minute bike ride to Dream in a Dream, but it takes about twenty because there’s a little more weight on the bike than usual and Jaemin has to compensate for it by pedaling faster.

He’s just parked the bike when he realizes that getting off is going to be a more complicated issue than getting on, and internally curses himself for not just taking the bus like a normal, unconcerned about the environment human being. Jeno stumbles as he climbs off, and Jaemin has to make a split second decision between catching Jeno or catching his bike.

The bike drops to the pavement, and Jaemin is gripping Jeno’s bicep to help keep him up. As soon as Jeno steadies himself, Jaemin lets go and picks his bike up off the ground, pushing it around the back side of the building and locking it the fence around the dumpster. 

Jeno looks at the alleyway like it holds all of the universe's secrets, and Jaemin has to stifle a laugh. He knows it's not Jeno's fault that the outside world is so foreign to him, and he is shocked by the flash of anger at the last owners of the lamp on Jeno's behalf. Shaking his head, he unlocks the back door to Dream in a Dream and lets himself and Jeno in.

Jeno's eyes grow even wider at the sight of hundreds of different plants surrounding him on all sides, and Jaemin forces down the small amount of smugness that rises when he realizes he's the only one who's ever bothered to show Jeno things, to take him out so that he could have fun.

It doesn't stop him from feeling selfish for forcing Jeno to spend time with him, but he feels a bit better every time Jeno asks him a  question with excitement brimming in his eyes. He answers every single one to the best of his ability, googling the ones he doesn't know to explain later.

He's pulling on his apron when he realizes that he’s completely forgotten to buy any vases for the store. Jeno picks up on his panic, and turns to Jaemin.

“What's wrong?” he asks, and Jaemin forgets for for a moment that Jeno’s definitely had bigger problems than forgetting something at work.

“I forgot to restock the vases. I was going to do it this morning, but everything that happened last night distracted me enough that I completely forgot about it. Jungwoo’s going to kill me,” Jaemin groans.

“Is there someone you could call to do it? Back when I was in training, Taeyong always had at least two people that he could call on if he forgot something. You should have seen the look on our instructor's face whenever Jaehyun or Ten would come in to bring his work.”

Jeno’s smile is one the most beautiful things Jaemin has ever seen, but it's gone almost as soon as it appeared.

“That was ages ago, though. Ten got chosen for lamp work, and Jaehyun and Taeyong got promoted to trainers.” The genie looks so sad at that that Jaemin knows that he's got to change the subject.

He pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and mulls it over. “I could call Chenle or Renjun, but I don't think that either of them would be particularly thrilled at being woken up this early. Haechan and Mark would kill me; it's their anniversary week and they would hate being interrupted. Maybe Doyoung?”

Jeno nods encouragingly, “try him first, then one of the others if he can't.”

Jaemin flashes a genuine smile at the genie before turning back to his contacts list and pressing on the call button next to Doyoung’s picture.

The phone rings a few times, and it is on the third ring that Jaemin starts to mentally run through his other friends to see who else would be able to help him. The phone clicks, and Jaemin is scared for a moment that he is being sent to voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Doyoung? It's Jaemin. Could I ask you to do me a huge favor?”

“It depends; I have to get to work in about an hour. What do you need?”

Jaemin sighs, “I'm not sure you have the time. I need someone to go and buy vases for the store, because I completely forgot to last night, but if you can't I'll just call Chenle…”

“He'd hate being woken up. I can probably get you a couple, but they're going to have to be generic because that's all I have time for. I'll swing by in about a half hour.”

“Thanks, Doyoung. You're a lifesaver.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll see you in a little bit.”

“Bye!” Jaemin calls into the receiver before hanging up the phone.

Jeno's looking at him with soft eyes from across the counter. “Everything's going to work out, see? No need to worry.”

Jaemin smiles at Jeno, a smile full of words and feelings that he can't quite verbalize, but can't be simply summed up as relief.

The front door rattles, and Jaemin realizes that he's forgotten to unlock it. Kun is glaring at him as he rounds the counter and pushes the door open for the other employee. 

“Forget something?”

“I’m so sorry, Kun. It’s been a crazy few hours; I’m surprised that I haven’t forgotten more.”

“You forgot the vases,” Jeno pipes up, and when Jaemin turns he sees that he’s now perched on the countertop. “I’m not sure about anything else, but that’s at least two things.”

Kun turns to Jaemin, eyebrows raised. “And who is this?”

“I’m Jeno. Nice to meet you,” the genie is perfectly cordial and poised, but there’s an underlying anxiety thrumming in his eyes.

Jaemin steps in, “He’s one of my mom’s friend’s sons. He’s staying with me for a little bit. I figured him being bored here was better than him being bored at my apartment.”

There’s something in Kun’s eyes that implies that he is aware that Jaemin’s story is fabricated, but he doesn’t call Jaemin out on it. He only nods slowly, taking in the genie in front of him before rounding the counter and pulling on his own apron.

“What do we have today?” Kun asks, and as simply as that, the subject is dropped.

Jaemin looks over the paperwork left for him on the counter. “No orders, just walk-ins today. We should probably do the rounds a few times; I noticed a couple of the plants looking dry yesterday.”

Kun nods, already pulling the watering cans out from under the counter. “Jeno, was it? Come help with this.”

Looking shocked and tentative, Jeno hops down from the counter and takes a metal watering can from Kun. He glances at Jaemin, almost as though he is asking for help, before Kun throws an apron at him and tells him to ‘at least look like he works here’. Kun takes Jeno around the shop, showing him the plants that need to be nurtured and the ones that will drown with too much water.

The bell on the door dings, and Jaemin hops the counter to help Doyoung carry boxes of vases to the storage room.

“Who's the new guy?” Doyoung asks after he puts the box down on the floor of the storage room.

Jaemin shakes his head. “He doesn't work here. He's a family friend that's staying with me for a little bit.”

Doyoung raises an eyebrow. “You say family friend, but I, at least, have never heard of him. You're hiding something, Jaemin.”

Feigning innocence, Jaemin replies, “I don't know what you're talking about, Doyoung. And, not to be rude, but you need to get going if you want to make it to work on time.”

Doyoung still looks suspicious as he rushes out to his car which is idling on the curb, but Jaemin just smiles and waves as the older man drives off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wasn't edited a ton, but I've got a new beta that's going to be joining us next chapter, so hopefully, everything will get better.
> 
> Please leave comments! They motivate me.
> 
> Comments = cuddles  
> Kudos = food


	5. V

The rest of the day is uneventful, though Jeno does almost knock an entire rack of plants to the ground when he turns around too fast. Kun puts him behind the counter and leaves him there, muttering something about it being impossible to find good help these days.

When they get back to Jaemin’s apartment, things are bit less awkward,  than they were before. Jaemin hustles around the kitchen making dinner, and Jeno watches him from the kitchen table.

Jaemin is aware of Jeno’s eyes on him, and he prays that he at least looks a little graceful as he moves about the kitchen. It’s strange to be fixing food for two, but not a bad strange. He quite likes having someone else in the apartment, actually.

“You know,” Jeno says, breaking the silence as Jaemin stirs the sauce, “I don’t technically have to eat.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Genies aren’t bound by mortal rules. II don’t even really need to sleep. It makes it harder to control our magic, though. Like, the lamp is a vessel for us, but we’re a vessel for the magic.”

“And the magic can’t have a weak vessel?”

“Not at all. If we did, the magic would be all over the place. It’s unpredictable enough as it is.”

“What do you mean by unpredictable?”

“Well, we’re never quite sure how wishes are going to play out. I usually ask how people specifically want their wishes to happen a lot of the time, but sometimes people aren’t specific enough and things go wrong.”

Jaemin turns the burner off and removes the saucepan from the stovetop. “That seems stressful.”

“It is. That’s why we go through so much training. I can’t be sure exactly how long, but it was probably equivalent to about two hundred of your years.”

Jaemin’s moving through the kitchen on autopilot, trying to comprehend the fact that the man in his kitchen is centuries old but only looks a few months older than he himself is, at most.

“So, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?”

“I'm young for a genie; most of my teachers had been around for millennia.”

A plate hits the table in front of Jeno, and he looks up to find Jaemin looking at him expectantly.

“You said the lamp is a vessel for you?” Jaemin asks later when they've finished eating.

“Yeah.” Jeno looks sheepish for a moment. “I didn't pay any attention during those classes though, so I'm not sure exactly how it works.”

Shaking his head in mock disapproval, Jaemin clicks his tongue. “For shame. Centuries of education and you couldn’t pay attention to one class?”

Jeno laughs, and Jaemin has to shake himself out of staring at the other man. He finds Jeno radiant when he’s just sitting there doing nothing.

Before Jeno can respond, however, there is a knock at the door. Jaemin ambles through the kitchen slowly, looking through the peephole to find out who is visiting him.

He opens the door and Chenle and Renjun tumble into his apartment, yelling at one another about something that Jaemin can’t follow because their conversation shifts from Korean to Chinese to the odd English phrase that he’s sure they picked up from Mark. Their argument continues as they kick off their shoes and enter further into the apartment, and doesn’t stop until they notice Jeno sitting in the kitchen.

“Um, Jaemin?” Renjun asks, voice growing suspicious, “Who’s this?”

Jaemin, growing tired of answering this perfectly reasonable question, sighs and fires off an answer that comes almost second nature to him now. “Jeno. He’s a family friend and is visiting for a while.”

Chenle leans toward Jaemin and whispers conspiratorially, “He’s cute.”

As though Jaemin isn’t aware of this fact.

Jeno blushes from the top of his head to his neck, ears turning bright red because of course he heard Chenle. The boy’s quietest setting is  _ loud _ .

Renjun is looking at Jaemin in suspicion. “You forgot movie night, didn’t you?”

They’ve been working through old Disney movies that they haven’t seen in ages, and it was Jaemin’s turn to host this week.

Yes, he forgot.

“Forgetting more things?” Jeno asks with a smirk, and  for a moment Jaemin thinks that the genie is completely aware of just how distracting he is.

Jaemin huffs, and Renjun and Chenle make themselves comfortable on the couch.

“Don’t feel too bad, Nana. Jisung can’t come tonight because he has to work, and we all know where Mark and Donghyuck are.”

“Begin disgustingly in love, as per usual!” Chenle finishes with a laugh. “Just us sad, single folk for tonight.”

Sighing, Jaemin takes a seat on the couch next to Renjun. “What’s on the menu?”

“We’ve got Aladdin. Chenle said it’s been about four years since he last saw it, but Jisung watched it recently, so we figured it would be the best choice.”

Jaemin starts laughing, and Jeno peers curiously at them from the kitchen.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, Jeno.” Jaemin replies. “You can join us, you know.” 

Jeno pads lightly into the living room, taking one look at the almost full couch and plopping down between Jaemin and the armrest. There’s not a lot of space between the two, and Jeno’s side is pressed entirely up against Jaemin’s.

Jeno’s familiar with television; Jaemin’s shown him Netflix, at least, so there is no fear of him freaking out at the box of moving pictures.

Jeno leans closer to Jaemin, and Jaemin prays that Jeno can’t feel his heart rate pick up.

“What’s this movie about?”

“I think you’ll like it, Jeno.” Jaemin says instead, and settles back into the couch.

Jeno follows him back, fitting his head onto Jaemin’s shoulder like it was meant to be there.

Yeah. Jaemin’s screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're enjoying this fic, please lat me know in the comments! It's good for morale and I crave validation.
> 
> Comment = Cuddles  
> Kudos = Food


	6. VI

Jaemin doesn't take Jeno to work with him every day. Sometimes Chenle and Renjun hang out with him, sometimes he stays at the apartment alone. He’s adapting to life outside the lamp well, and Jaemin almost feels good about his deal with Jeno.

(Almost. He still sees it as forcing Jeno to stay with him, which, in all actuality, is a bit of a dick move.)

Movie nights become a staple in their lives, and Jeno has officially met all of Jaemin’s friends. He and Donghyuck get along almost scarily well, and though Jeno was wary of Mark at first, they’re tentative friends.

(Aladdin had been a great idea until Renjun and Chenle left, at which point Jeno started in on an hour-long rant about the inaccuracy that the movie showed in portraying genie culture.)

But Jeno becomes very ingrained into Jaemin’s life very quickly. They become so good at coexisting that Jaemin almost forgets the situation in which they met and considers Jeno to be a normal part of his daily life.

He’s so adjusted, in fact, that he doesn’t realize how long Jeno has been with him. Jaemin is shocked to realize that it has been almost two months of cohabitation (though his back is not surprised that he has been sleeping on the couch for two months). He hadn’t really been thinking about wishes; they seemed to have so much time. There was no rush to get rid of Jeno, and he frankly didn’t want to. The apartment seemed a lot less empty with another person in it.

When he tells Jeno that it’s been two months, the genie is shocked.

“It was only supposed to be a couple of weeks,” he says, hands pushing his hair out of his face.

His hair has gotten longer in the months he has spent with Jaemin, and the first time he pulled it back with a rubber band to get it out of his face, Jaemin thought that his head (or maybe heart) would explode. Jaemin had planned to take him to a barbershop and get it cut, but they hadn’t had the time.

Now, it seems, their time has run out.

“I should have moved on ages ago,” Jeno whispers, more to himself than to Jaemin. “I shouldn’t have let myself get so distracted.”

Jaemin sighs and sits down on the couch. After a moment of hesitation, Jeno takes a seat next to him.

“It’s your call,” Jaemin murmurs, hands clasped in front of him so that Jeno can’t see how badly they’re shaking. “You’re running this show. Have been since day one.”

Jeno swallows, Adam’s apple bobbing in a way that Jaemin normally finds distracting but now only seems to spell out bad things for the both of them. Both men’s eyes are screaming ‘I don’t want this to end’, but neither is looking at the other in fear of what they might find there.

“I think it would be best if I go,” Jeno whispers, scared to speak louder and make the situation any more real than it already is.

“I wish it didn’t have to end,” Jaemin murmurs to himself, but it is loud enough for the other to hear.

“You do?” Jeno asks, incredulous. The other man doesn’t understand his shock; he simply nods and sighs sadly.

“Of course I do.”

“If you could, how would you do it?”

Jaemin doesn’t notice the hazy purple smoke surrounding Jeno’s hands, or the way his words seem weighted with something deeper and older than he appears.

Jaemin sighs again, repositioning himself on the couch and trying to choose his words carefully. “I guess I’d try to figure out how to level the playing field. I feel like while you have so much power, I’m the one with the power to call the shots, and I don’t want there to be a hierarchy anymore. I just wish that this were normal.”

“Normal?” Jeno echoes, eyes glimmering with power.

“You know. Like we’d met like normal people, and I could have called you cute when I met you, and asked you out without feeling like there was a complete lack of power to say no on your part.”

“You think I’m cute?”

Now both human and genie are distracted, which is not good for the combination of hormones, magic, and unmade wishes floating through the air. Jeno seems to have forgotten that he’s on the cusp of granting one of Jaemin’s three wishes, magic volatile and prone to acting out in almost violent ways if he lets it get away from him.

“I mean, yeah?” Jaemin says, and it sounds like a question even though both men know that it is not.

(Jaemin thinks that it is just typical for him to be nursing a school-boy crush on the genie that he’s convinced himself he bought. Donghyuck and Mark shouldn’t let him do anything. Ever.)

“Why?” And Jeno knows that he shouldn’t be asking, that he should grant the wish in the most predictable way ever and escape back into his bottle. (Honestly, fuck three wishes. Jeno will give Jaemin one and then run for the hills before he gets any more attached.)

Head in his hands, Jaemin responds. “I don’t know? I mean, objectively you’re really attractive, and I’m gay as hell, but it’s more than that? I think I find your general demeanor cute? Like, you look like you could beat me up in an instant, but you’ve got this confused kitten air about you that’s really fucking endearing, and I don’t even mind that you’ve spent the last two months asking me questions about anything and everything, because the way that you look when you understand how or why something works is captivating. And you don’t even know because you’re the least stuck-up person I’ve ever met, and you just live like there’s no tomorrow and I really admire that.”

Jeno is struck speechless, and the purple haze in the room grows thicker. Now, it’s thick enough that Jaemin notices, and his face pales.

“I said them, didn’t I? That’s just typical. Accidental wishes. How many?”

“You’ve used two,” Jeno murmurs. “I haven’t put them into motion yet.”

“What did I wish for?”

“For this not to end, and for it to be normal.”

“That means that I have one left.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I take either of them back?”

“I guess? I didn’t really pay attention in that class either,” Jeno smiles, soft and sad. “I do know that you have to replace whichever immediately.”

“Then, I take back the first one. Forcing you to stay here is not my intention.”

“Done. And the replacement?”

Jaemin takes a deep breath. “I wish you every happiness. Anything you want. Have it.”

Jeno’s eyes widen, but he nods. “Would you like to take a third wish?”

“I don’t want it. It can be yours, if you wish.” Jaemin says, and in a puff of purple smoke, Jeno vanishes.

Jaemin’s not sure how his wishes are going to come true, and he’s not sure that he cares. After all, he’s fairly certain that he’s just lost the best thing that’s ever tumbled into his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey kids, we're slowly catching up to what I've prewritten, so updates may be a bit slower than usual.  
> Please leave a comment, they really motivate me.


	7. IIV

Being on his own isn't something that Jeno is used to. In the lamp, he's in a bit of of a stasis until he's summoned, and out of the lamp he is a servant to whomever possesses it. Free will isn’t something that Jeno understands completely.

So, Jaemin wishing for his happiness was a little bit unexpected.

Jeno's not even sure what he wants, just takes this opportunity as a chance to see the world, without having to bend to his owners’ wishes. With his magic at his own disposal, travelling is easy; he thinks of of a destination, and then he's there. 

He spends some time in genie meccas, the places where their powers are strongest: Saudi Arabia, China, and Korea. He sightsees, gets the know the world as it is now; without Jaemin’s assistance it's a bit more difficult, but he thinks he manages. Being a genie has its perks, and the capability to understand all languages is one of them. He learns about what has happened in the last hundred years, learns about the differences between this world and his.

Having a wish, on the other hand, is something he has no idea how to deal with. In his vast memory, he can't recall any other genie being given the same option, and he spends much of his time in Korea in temples debating his options.

There are many things he could wish for, ranging from a larger lamp to a position in which he doesn’t have to be in a lamp at all. But Jeno's never had material possessions. The closest he's ever come is the clothing that Jaemin let him borrow after he realized that Jeno’s wardrobe included only the pants and vest he arrived in; the skinny jeans and t-shirt that he’s still wearing. There is no point in wishing for something that he has no desire or need for. He weighs the pros and cons and asks the people he meets on his travels what they would wish for.

Some tell him money, some say happiness. Some wish to change something that happened in their past, some desire a glance into their future.

One woman who tells him that she’d wish for happiness follows up with, “Unfortunately, we rarely know what our happiness is until it is gone.”

She causes Jeno to seriously think about his life. To be honest, Jeno finds that there aren’t a lot of things that made him happy. HIs life is a blend of granting other people’s wishes and returning to the lamp. He can only really remember being free when he was in school, but even that was shadowed by the knowledge that as soon as he finished he’d have to spend eternity granting wishes.

Really, the only time he was happy was his few months with Jaemin, as sad as that sounds. It was the only time he felt that people wanted him around for him, not for the things he was capable of doing for them.

(It’s because of this that there's one thing that he doesn't even have to debate, but he barely lets himself consider it. It's almost  _ too  _ much to wish for.)

He briefly considers finding Ten and Taeyong and asking them what they think, but he has no way of knowing whether or not they're out of their lamps. After all, it's been a long time since he's seen them; he doesn't know whether or not they're even still in lamps.

When his vacation, as he's calling it, is over, he travels to the Genie High Council. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that the update is a week late! I was away last weekend, and decided to push it back instead of throwing off my schedule.  
> If you enjoyed,please leave a comment or kudo.
> 
> Comments=cuddles  
> Kudos=food


	8. VIII

The Genie High Council consists of the five oldest and most powerful genies. There are three High Councils: one in Saudi Arabia, one in China, and one in Korea. Korea is Jeno’s home High Council; it’s where he was raised and taught.

His teacher, Lee Soo-man, is a member of the top five, alongside Park Jinyoung, Bang Sihyuk, Yang Min-Suk, and Han Seong-ho.

He'll admit, he feels a bit like like a child standing in front of them. All five stare at him in disbelief after he tells them that he's been given a wish.

Park Jinyoung breaks the silence by laughing. “Millennia, and this doesn't happen. Then, all of a sudden we get not one, but two cases within the same short period. And they're both your trainees, Soo-Man! How's that for the universe's sense of humor?”

Lee Soo-Man is turning a bit green in the face, and if Jeno weren't terrified of him, he'd probably ask if the council member was alright.

“I suppose we should call him in,” Bang Sihyuk muses, looking around at the other council members.

“We should,” Yang Min-Suk replies, and the entirety of the council turns expectantly to Lee Soo-Man. 

He's turned from green to grey in the few moments that Jeno's attention has been off of him. He's nodding along, but his forehead is covered in sweat.

Park Jinyoung seems to notice the other genie’s discomfort, and appears to take twisted pleasure in it. 

“Well, Soo-Man? Call him. Unless you're embarrassed that your trainees seem to be the worst trained out of every other group. Perhaps one of the other teachers would be better suited for your job…”

He's cut off by a blonde boy who bursts into the room, lack of regard for the rules apparent. The boy fixes his glare upon Park Jinyoung, and the council member turns the same shade of green that Lee Soo-Man had been, blanching at the sight of the trainee.

“Sir! What's this I've just heard about you demoting both Felix and Minho? I may not be active here anymore, but that doesn't mean that I don't know what's going on.”

Lee Soo-Man smirks at Park Jinyoung. “You were saying?” he says, sickly sweet. “Because I do recall our friend Chan here leaving the genie order for a girl he met while on lamp duty… I’m not the only one who doesn’t seem to have control over his trainees.”

Park Jinyoung looks between Chan and Lee Soo-Man for a moment, weighing his options. “Chan, we will speak later.”

“But-”

“Later!”

The blonde boy exits in a huff, and on his way out another person walks in before Chan slams the door shut in anger. Jeno can't see the new person clearly, as Lee Soo-Man has come to stand in front of him.

“The Council is very much aware that you have no desire to be here, but you know that we would not call you unless there was no other option.”

The figure sighs, face up to the ceiling in exasperation. “Fine. What poor sap am I here to help?”

The voice is familiar, and Jeno steps out from behind Lee Soo-Man to see the other genie.

“Lee Jeno? What strings did the universe pull to get you in this scenario?”

“Ten?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the last two chapters have been so short, but we're approaching the end of this story!   
> Comments and Kudos keep me motivated.


	9. IX

“And you ended up saddled with a wish?”

Jeno nods in response.

“There's a reason that it doesn’t happen often; most humans aren't selfless enough to give one away. This Jaemin you told me about sounds special.”

“He is, but you didn't explain how you got a wish.”

Ten sighs, leaning back into the tapestry behind him in the room provided by the council. “A few years back, my lamp got picked up out of a dumpster. Seems the person who summoned me before had kept the lamp until they passed, and it ended up being tossed with everything else. Johnny was the one who picked it up, and after panicking about me being a genie, he decided that he didn't want any wishes. So, that of course means that I'm stuck. Eventually, the council shows up and gets all up in my business about why I haven't clocked into my lamp in two years. So I have to tell them that I can't get back in because I still owe this guy three wishes. They can't very well let me stay with this guy until he passes, so they have to sit down with him and get him to use his wishes.

“And he says that I can have them. All three, if I really want that many.” Ten’s eyes turn mischievous. “And Johnny's this really tall, really hot guy from Chicago that I've been living with for two years, so of course I'm a little bit in love with him. Who wouldn't be? So I ask for my freedom, simple as that.

“But there's a lot of rules involved in being a free genie, and they had to create documents for me out of nowhere, because I had no intention of imposing upon Johnny's income and I needed some way to get a job. We don't get back pay from being genies,” Ten laughs.

“Documents?”

“Yeah. Papers of citizenship and a whole identity for me so that I could live like a human.”

“But, you still have powers?”

Ten shrugs. “We keep my lamp in the living room. I suppose I'll run out of magic when it does, but there's no example. I'm flying blind; I have no idea what's going to happen when my magic inevitably runs out. Without the recharge, magic drains me. I rarely, if ever, use it. Life is unnecessarily complicated with all the rules that the council gave me, but Johnny’s worth it.”

“So, you chose him over magic?”

“It was an easy choice. I need him more than I’ve ever needed magic. Which sounds super dramatic, but I've literally never been able to use magic for myself, so it's really not any different than before.”

Jeno’s half-formed wish that had been brewing in the back of his head is becoming all he can think about. Ten’s right: he doesn't need magic at all anymore, but what he really wants seems to be too much to ask for.

“Have you ever… regretted it?”

“Sometimes. It was hard to have to rewrite my entire history.Getting a real job was hard, too. And every once and a while I forget that I’m not a genie anymore. That being said, it’s nice to have free will and to be able to be awake whenever I want. I will never complain that I’m no longer at the beck and call of whoever happened to pick up my lamp.” He pauses for a moment. “But, Jeno? It’s not a choice anyone else can make for you. You have to decide for yourself.”

* * *

 

By some sort of horrible irony, the lamp is still in Jaemin’s apartment. He’s already tried rubbing it to see if Jeno will reappear. He didn’t. So, Jaemin uses the lamp for what he intended to in the first place: flowers.

Yellow roses are a constant staple in the centerpiece; They mean freedom and it takes all of Jaemin’s being to hope that Jeno is free now. Holly and purple lilac are frequent visitors, meaning domestic happiness and the first emotion of love, respectively.

He refuses to put wisteria in the lamp. They mean immortality, and he can’t dwell on the fact that he is but a small blip in Jeno’s endless life while Jeno will always be such a large part of his.

He tries to go about his life as normal; he spends weekends with Donghyuck and Mark, goes to a few new antique shops with Chenle and Renjun (He neglects to buy anything; it feels a bit like cheating, in a way).

It isn’t until October that he realizes that two months have passed since Jeno disappeared, and he’s shocked. He’s still finding bits of Jeno throughout the apartment; Just the other day he found that stupid golden vest in the bottom of the hamper in the bathroom and almost burst into tears of laughter, remembering the look on Jeno’s face when he threw him those sweatpants. (Now that he thinks about it, he never did get those sweatpants back.)

He would say that he’s doing fine, however. He watched Aladdin for nostalgia purposes and didn’t cry, just got upset at the creators on Jeno’s behalf. He knows far too much about genie culture now to watch anything with a magical, wish-granting entity.

Jaemin can’t help but wonder how Jeno’s doing, though. He hopes that Jeno took advantage of his wish for Jeno’s happiness, and did everything that he’s ever wanted to do. He wonders what Jeno wished for, if he wished for anything at all. He just hopes that Jeno’s happy, wherever he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are approaching the end! Just two more chapters to go, then I will be starting a Stray Kids Umbrella Academy AU. Keep an eye out!
> 
> Comments and Kudos keep me motivated!


	10. X

It’s one in the morning, Jaemin’s been asleep for all of two hours, and someone is knocking on his door.

Who on earth is walking around at one in the morning? Jaemin wonders, rubbing his eyes blearily.

It’s dark in the hallway, and he can’t make out anything beyond a figure through the peephole. He checks to make sure that the chain lock is in place before he opens the door, just a crack.

“Jeno?” he whispers in shock. The other man stands awkwardly in the hall, shifting his weight between his feet nervously as his eyes meet Jaemin’s.

“Hey,” he murmurs, and waves awkwardly at the other man.

Jaemin takes a moment to stare at Jeno before responding. He’s been denied that privilege for two months, and he’s decided that it’s something he deserves (for now, at least), before it’s taken away from him again.

“What are you doing here?” Jaemin asks, closing the door to undo the chain lock before throwing it open wide to allow Jeno entrance.

“Do you know how hard you are to find?” Jeno replies, dodging the question and slipping his shoes off at the front door.

“I haven’t gone anywhere.”

“Yeah, well, I never had any reason to learn your address, and I never paid any attention to what your building looked like so you are a very difficult man to find. I tried using the Google and I couldn’t find anything.”

Jaemin laughs. “How on earth did you manage to figure out Google?”

“A nice lady at the library helped me. She was very attentive.”

They sit down on the couch, and Jaein realizes that Jeno never answered his first question.

“So, what are you doing here? Not that you’re not welcome, of course, but I’m under the impression that you could be anywhere right now.”

“I could be,” Jeno pauses, eyes staring intently at a spot on the carpet. “But I don’t want to be.”

Choosing not to focus on the second, whispered part of Jeno’s sentence, Jaemin asks another question. “Did you use the wish I gave you?”

Jeno nods, but doesn’t elaborate.

Jaemin doesn’t want to pry, but he’s curious. He’s not sure how and why Jeno’s sitting in his apartment again, and he doesn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it doesn’t make sense to him.

“What did you wish for?” Jaemin whispers, pulling his knees to his chest and hugging them as he waits for Jeno’s answer.

Still staring at the carpet, Jeno replies, “I don’t know if I should say.”

“Are you happy with it?”

“I am.” the response is quick and definite, and Jaemin is thankful that while Jeno may not want to share his wish with him, he’s satisfied with it.

“Was it… was it a difficult choice?”

Jeno bites his lip. “Yeah,” he whispers. “Yeah, it was.”

“But, you’re happy? Completely, absolutely happy?” Jaemin’s voice is almost too hopeful, sounding as though it is on the edge of breaking.

Jeno nods. “I traveled the world. I got to see everything  I’ve ever wanted to see all within a few weeks, and then I had to go to the Council of Genies.”

Jaemin’s brows furrow. “Council of Genies?”

“Well, as far as I knew, no genie had ever been given a wish before. I’m not sure how long it took for them to figure out how to grant the wish I wanted, but eventually they managed to come up with some sort of crazy, convoluted method to make it happen. I don’t fully understand how it worked, so please don’t ask me to explain it. But, whatever they did worked. And now I’m here.”

“Now you’re here,” Jaemin echoes, dazed look upon his face as he tries to take it all in.

Jeno nods again, eyes sparkling in a way that Jaemin has missed. “I’m back! And human, and definitely more mortal than before, but I don’t have to go back into that stupid lamp ever again.”

“You’re human now?”

“Well, I wanted to wish myself free, but there were all kinds of rules for that and I didn’t want to have to deal with them all. It’s not as easy as they make it seem in Aladdin. So I wished myself human instead.”

Jaemin pinches himself. He’s almost sure that this whole thing is a horribly realistic dream, and that in a moment he’s going to wake up a little more lonely than before. But he doesn’t wake up, and that pinch hurts. It begins to dawn on him that this is reality.

“You’re human and your plan is what, exactly?”

Jeno seems to deflate a bit at that. “Well, there were all kinds of documents and such that had to be created out of thin air for me, but I think all the paperwork and legal stuff is taken care of. I don’t really have a plan; my first priority was to find you.”

Jaemin leans backward into the couch. It’s now one forty-five in the morning, and he really doesn’t know how to figure out everything that needs to be figured out about Jeno on two hours of sleep. He decides to file it away as a tomorrow problem and go back to bed.

He has one question left to ask, however.

“Jeno, why was your first priority to find me?”

Jeno has the grace to look sheepish, hair falling forward to cover his face as he tucks his chin into his chest in embarrassment. “Well, you care about me. And when I asked how you would make it normal, you said that you thought I was cute, and that you wanted to ask me out like normal humans do, and I realized that I wanted that. And then you wished for my happiness, and I got to see the world, but I figured out that that didn’t make me as happy as watching movies and cuddling with you. You wished me every happiness, Jaemin. And you make me happy. So, here I am.”

“Here you are,” Jaemin echoes in a whisper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter to go!  
> Kudos and Comments are good. Please let me know what you think of this fic!


	11. XI

There’s still a lot for them to figure out: what Jeno’s going to do next, how Jaemin’s going to explain to his landlord (and friends) that’s he’s got a new roommate, how exactly all of those pesky wishes came true. But for now, Jaemin really only has one wish, and a genie that can hopefully make it come true.

“Hey, Jeno?”

“Yeah?”

“I was wondering if I could maybe… Can I kiss you?”

Jeno is taken aback for a moment, cat-like eyes widening as he turns to look at Jaemin. The other man meets his eyes with an unwavering gaze, though the expression on his face still screams nervousness and hopefulness, and Jeno can’t help but nod because he really wants this.

After all, Jaemin wished him every happiness.

And now he gets to have it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, this is really the end! It's been quite the journey. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this.  
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!
> 
> Keep an eye out for my Stray Kids Umbrella Academy AU!  
> Come visit me on [ twitter!](https://twitter.com/bastanubis29)

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on twitter! https://twitter.com/bastanubis29
> 
> If you enjoyed, leave me a comment or a kudo; they keep me motivated!


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